Fine Dining on a Dime

Finding the hidden gems in Dallas is our ultimate mission as Taste Buds, so we were more than excited when a follower suggested checking out the restaurant Technique at Le Cordon Bleu. He told us that the culinary students also run a restaurant serving a three course French meal, for a really low price. We made one attempt to go to the restaurant earlier this year, and found out that a reservation is a must and the days are limited to Tuesday-Fridays. After making a reservation about a month ago on Open Table, we secured a reservation and were excited to see what was in store.

The restaurant is definitely part of a culinary school and it is apparent from the moment you get there. You walk by the front desk of the school and the classrooms upon entrance. The setup is modest, white tablecloths and a dimmed lighting. The kitchen is open and you can see the students hard at work preparing your meal. Sara pointed out that the bread was under heat lamps, easily seen by the diners, which was a bit unappealing. The waitress (culinary student) came to our table and explained the menu. There are three courses, priced at $16. The restaurant also has a drink menu.There were a number of appetizing options and we asked her what her favorites were. She suggested for an appetizer the LCBLT salad or Salade Maison and as main courses, either the poached salmon or polenta cakes.

We received our bread from the heat lamp minutes later and I was unimpressed. Since Sara is gluten free, I was the sole judge. The bread simply tasted like a store bought baguette. Maybe we had a bad idea about it from the heat lamp exposure, but either way it was underwhelming. I started off with the Salade Maison with mixed greens, candied pecans, tart apple straws, blue cheese, sundried tomatoes , and a honey thyme vinaigrette. I really enjoyed my salad, and in retrospect, was the favorite of my three courses. The dressing was really tasty and there was a good balance of the other ingredients. Sara ordered the LCBLT salad with butter lettuce, bacon, pear tomatoes, and house made ranch dressing.  Sara was unimpressed by her starter dish, as the ranch dressing was bland and watery. I took a bite and really couldn’t even taste the dressing.  I declared myself a victor in round one.

For the main course, I ordered the steak frites, a 6 oz New York strip, béarnaise sauce, and hand cut pommes frites.  The béarnaise sauce was absolutely delicious and the fries were tasty. I kept dipping them in the sauce until I unfortunately run out. The steak was another story. This was probably the toughest steak I have ever received at a restaurant, and I ordered it medium rare. I kept trying to find its saving grace, but after Sara had a bite, we both decided there was not one.  Sara ordered the suggested polenta cakes with mushroom ragout, grilled asparagus, and truffle oil. She enjoyed the cakes, stating that they tasted much like cheese grits, but believed that they were missing a much needed sauce. She noted that her side salad with asparagus and truffle oil was tasty. Sara definitely won round two, although she was a bit perplexed this was the recommended entrée.

Lastly, we received our desserts. I ordered the spiced peaches vol au vent, which came out much like a deconstructed peach cobbler with ice cream. I was expecting the peaches to be warm, but they were cold. It was a tasty dish altogether, and I really enjoyed the lavender ice cream served as a side. Sara ordered the chocolate bomb, a chocolate mousse dome, devil’s food cake, and chocolate ganache. This dessert was in fact, the bomb. I even heard Sara say “I will eat this all day” mid course. I had a bite, and it was very tasty. This was definitely the highlight of both meals.

Overall, Technique at Le Cordon Bleu is exactly what you get for your money. It is “fine dining on a budget” and the presentation of all the dishes is very impressive. There were a few misses throughout both of our meals, but overall it was a fun and unique place to go.  Technique is somewhere I could take my dad and he wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the “foo foo”,  but it is not somewhere I would try to impress a date. It is a great place for a couple, friends, or family to go and get something different for a very good price. We thought maybe we stumbled upon a place with five star caliber dining for a steal, but again the food is comparable to what you are paying for. Our waitress did tell us that they change the menu every six weeks, so we would not be opposed to checking it out in the future to see if our choices fare us a little better.

Sunday Funday - Lucky's Cafe and Tu-Lu's Bakery

Lucky’s Café is a little dinner on Oak Lawn with a wide-ranging menu and a fun atmosphere. One thing on their menu that caught our eye was the “Sleaziest, Cheesiest Grilled Cheese in Town”. With a name like that, how can we resist...right? So off we went on a Sunday afternoon for a Dallas diner experience we were excited to try.

Lucky’s is typically packed on the weekends, so when we arrived parking was a bit of a struggle. After securing a spot down the street, we headed in and only had about a 5 minute wait. No biggie. We were seated at a large booth with red vinyl seats and ordered some coffee while we reviewed our lunching options. Before arriving, we had noticed that the Grilled Cheese is not on the Brunch menu, which is what Lucky’s uses until 2 PM on weekends. We asked the hostess if they could make one anyway and she said yes. Score!

After trying to appease our seemingly impatient waitress, we decided on the grilled cheese with fried okra as the side, and the grilled pork chops and eggs with potatoes. Our waitress said they could MAYBE do a grilled cheese since the griddle was being used up by pancakes and eggs, but she’d check. We got our grilled cheese, thankfully. It came with onions, tomato, green chilies, bacon, cheddar & swiss grilled on Texas toast. We really can’t think of much else that could possibly make this sandwich better tasting. Haley enjoyed it and commented on how much she loved the green chilies and the crispy bacon. Her fried okra was also really good – fresh tasting, unlike some places that taste like the okra has been reheated too many times.

My pork chop and eggs were good. It came with 2 grilled pork chops, 2 eggs (I got them over easy) and breakfast potatoes that were heavily seasoned. All in all the food was what I had expected. A little salty for my taste, but wasn’t disappointing in the least. If I could do it again and weren’t gluten free, I would have gotten the banana pecan pancakes or waffle that was on the specials chalk board. C’est la vie!

When we went to the cash register to pay our check, I told the man that I had 1.5 free entrée gift cards (because one of them may or may not be expired), depending on what he wants to do with it. We were hoping that our humor might win him over. He looked at our bill for a second and then said ok, you’re good. We didn’t pay for anything, including our coffee! So nice – Lucky’s definitely gets points for being so accommodating.

After brunch, we decided to swing by Tu-Lu’s bakery for a gluten free cupcake (Haley indulged me on this one). We decided the mini cupcakes were too cute to pass up so we each ordered 3. We tried the red velvet, the chocolate with cream cheese icing, and the mint mojito cupcakes. Haley hated the mint mojito, but I really liked it. The chocolate with cream cheese icing was yummy. But (so disappointing) the red velvet minis were way overcooked. The upside: we couldn’t tell they were gluten free despite the dry red velvet. Next time, we will just get the normal sized cupcakes.

All in all, it was a fun foodie adventure. Some lessons learned, but still places we will definitely be visiting again soon.


http://www.luckysdallas.com/

http://tu-lusbakery.com/

The Best Tacos on a Budget

When we were planning our latest foodie adventure, we sought help from local Taco Enthusiast, @TacoTrail and asked him where he thought we could get our “biggest bang for our buck” taco deal. He led us to La Nueva Fresh and Hot Tortilleria located off Webb Chapel and NW Hwy in Dallas. While traveling to our destination, we realized we were in an area pretty unfamiliar to us. There is a plethora of local taco shops and tamale stands so we were eager to find out what La Nueva did that separated them from the pack.

La Nueva Fresh and Hot is located in a tiny strip next to a Metro PCS and a beer and wine store. It has no A/C or seating for patrons. As you walk in, smell fits the name:  fresh and hot. It feels almost as though your friend invited you for dinner at his abuela’s house.  We went to the counter and placed our order. I ordered two types of guisado tacos, the guisado rojo and guisado verde. This was my first guisado experience. For those who are unfamiliar, guisado means stew. Sara ordered the guisado verde taco and a barbacoa taco. My order totaled $6.50 for two tacos, chips, salsa, and a bottle of water.  We took our meal to the nearby Bachman lake area, so we could sit down and enjoy.

 Sara started with the barbacoa taco and enjoyed it. The tortillas are spectacular, and you can tell are made fresh all day long. They are fluffy for a corn tortilla, and do not fall apart on you. Sara enjoyed her taco and noted that she could taste how everything was made with really quality, fresh ingredients.  We also enjoyed the chips and salsa; the chips are out of this world.  

I started with the guisado rojo taco that was made with pork, cactus strips, and a red based sauce. It was clear that this meat had been marinating for awhile. It was tender, flavorful, and really delicious. The spice level of this taco was nice, but nowhere near a level of the taco that followed. The rojo was definitely my favorite of the two tacos I had.

Sara and I both ordered a guisado verde taco, a pork taco with tomatillo sauce. It was love at first bite. It was delicious, flavorful, and spicy. Then the fifth and sixth bites came, and the love was a little overshadowed by the spice. It was one of those meals where halfway through your mouth is on fire, but you want to keep eating because the flavors are so great. We both finished the taco and enjoyed it after eating some chips to cut the spice. Even though we both admitted it was spicy, we agreed that it was the kind of spice that was pleasant. It did not detract from the flavor of the taco and with chips and water, it wasn’t too much to handle.

Sara and I quickly headed back to our cars to escape the 100 degree weather we had just downed spicy tacos in. I texted Sara about 10 minutes later and said, “now that I have cooled off, I can really appreciate how delicious that just was.” That text message, my friends, really sums up how great our guisado taco experience was. Thanks @TacoTrail for the great recommendation, we will definitely be going back!

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https://twitter.com/#!/TacoTrail

Company Cafe - The Jury's Still Out!

We’ve wanted to check out Company Café for months, especially since I (Sara) had to give up gluten. We decided to swing over for brunch on Sunday because A: brunch is by far the best meal, and B: I have been craving pancakes for the longest time. We went to the Greenville location because we had heard a few comments about the Katy Trail location and wanted to go the tried and true route for the full experience.  Our brunch consisted of some hits and some misses – I’ll go in descending order of cravability.

We started off with a French press for the table which was fun and then ordered the loaded sweet potato fries to share. We got a half order so we would still have room for our own meals and it was the perfect portion for 2. The sweet potato fries came with cheddar, bacon, green onion, FRESH jalapeños and a side of ketchup. If you love jalapeños and spicy food, you’re in luck! These peppers were super spicy – I literally ate one slice and that was enough for me. The loaded fries were really delicious and are definitely worth coming back for.

Haley ordered the Urban Hippie Scramble for her meal which consisted of three cage-free eggs scrambled with sautéed grass-fed beef, onion, squash and tomato topped with goat cheese served with organic salsa, and gluten-free toast. Haley decided to go for the gluten-free toast so that we could do a full-on GF review. The scramble was ok – nothing really to write home about. To be honest, she was really in it for the goat cheese…but then again who doesn’t love goat cheese? The gluten-free toast was really good, however. It was a thick slice and had a great taste and texture. We couldn’t really even tell it was GF, which is a huge compliment!

I ordered the gluten-free pancakes which comes with butter and maple syrup. Like I mentioned, I was super pumped for pancakes since I literally haven't had them for almost a year. They looked yummy but had a really strange texture and taste. Actually, “gross” was a word that was thrown out to describe them. Trying to be optimistic and really wanting to indulge in pancakes no matter what, I kept taking bites hoping they would grow on me. They didn’t. I got through half of one pancake and had to give up. Luckily, the loaded fries filled me up enough.

Both the service and the brunch experience were ok. All that said, though, numerous waiters kept walking by with plates of food that looked so much more delicious than what we had ordered. We are convinced that there must be better items on the menu and we have to give it another go! Maybe we will even branch out and go to Katy Trail…

http://companycafe.net/

Meddlesome Moth: Not So Ordinary Pub Fare

The Taste Buds decided on gastro pub fare for our latest outing. Both of us were interested in checking out Meddlesome Moth, who specializes in this type of cuisine as we had both heard and read positive things. We headed out to the Design District in Dallas on a Friday evening to see what this place was all about.

We arrived to the restaurant around 7:15 on a Friday night and were surprised we were immediately seated. The atmosphere in this place is very welcoming, with dark wood and dim lights. There are also really unique stained glass windows that merge rock and roll and a cathedral vibe, somehow successfully.  However, both of us were anticipating a more “rustic” feel to the place, maybe due to its name and location. Overall, the décor is pleasant and there was a patio that looked very inviting on a warmer day.

Our waitress was very helpful when we told her we were first time diners. She went over the “style” of the restaurant, that it is based on a tapas or sharing menu, and most people order one or two things and then later on place more orders. She also was very knowledgeable about the beers and gave both Sara and I recommendations that we both enjoyed. Sara even said that her hard cider is the best type she has had.  We placed our first two orders, the bone marrow and bacon lollipops.

We received the bacon lollipops first. They were huge portions of thick, meaty bacon on a skewer with a maple hollandaise and funnel cake. The bacon was really tasty, but it tasted more of a “ham steak” than actual bacon. Being a self-proclaimed bacon connoisseur, the meat was very tasty but it was a bit thick and fatty for my particular preference. Sara and I each had two lollipops and agreed that it was more of a four person dish. The maple hollandaise was really tasty, but the funnel cake fell short. It was hard and really tasteless. We were both really confused as to what purpose it served.

Next, we eagerly anticipated the bone marrow, as we have both never tried it. The bone marrow came out as you would expect, served in hollowed out bones. It was served with little baguette slices. The texture is a bit unique, almost like that of an oyster. It was dressed with capers and seasoning and was really tasty. However, it was definitely not light on the salt. We were happy that we had taken the risk, but after that and the bacon we felt very full of meat and salt.

We wanted to try to find a last dish that was not so heavy handed, and settled last on the cobb salad. This is a bit of a different take on a cobb salad, as it is served with prosciutto instead of bacon. This was by far our favorite dish of the night. It was a generous portion and I thought the balance of all the ingredients married really well on the plate. We both agreed that it was a great salad.

Overall, we enjoyed our experience at Meddlesome Moth. We both thought that maybe we had unintentionally ordered quite possibly the two heaviest dishes on the menu that resulted in us feeling a little heavy after dinner. The prices are a bit steep for the amount of food you are getting, but if we had more people it may have been more successful. We both agreed that this is a place we would come back to. However, we both agreed it would probably not be in our regular rotation of foodie finds.

Meddlesome Moth Website

Whiskey Cake - Brunch Up North

When Whiskey Cake opened up in Plano there were mixed reviews. Some people said it felt chainy, some people said it was over-priced, some people thought the food was bad, and some people really liked or even loved it. We thought we’d give it a whirl. As brunch-loving foodies, we opted the check out the yummy-looking brunch menu and skip the hubbub of a typical weekend dinner evening (the bar scene gets pretty crowded here).

After a pretty big Saturday, we were definitely in need of a little hair of the dog this particular Sunday morning. Haley ordered the typical mimosa, I ordered a version of a salty dog with gin, cucumber, grapefruit juice and club soda, and Haley’s boyfriend ordered a Bloody Mary. Mimosa was good, my gin drink was really refreshing and tasty, but Haley and Michael weren’t in love with the Bloody Mary.  I am not a fan of Bloody Mary’s typically, but wanted to try this one. I actually liked it better than any other one I’d tried! Maybe this goes back to everyone having their own preference for a Bloody Mary. Anyway, take it for what it’s worth.

For our meals, we definitely took advantage of the special Brunch menu. Haley ordered a Fried Green Tomato & Egg B.L.T. with Remoulade on toasted challah bread and kettle chips. The sandwich looked amazing and Haley said it was amazing. Although, what’s really not to like here?

Michael ordered the Chicken and Waffles – are you noticing a trend here? J It consisted of “bacon laced” Belgium waffles, fried chicken breast, scrambled eggs, and smoked chili hollandaise sauce. This was not our favorite interpretation of the dish, sadly. It was decent.

I ordered the Steak and Egg Burger, which consisted of a brisket burger, sunny side up egg, Muenster cheese, apple wood bacon, red chili aioli and hollandaise sauce. I am now avoiding gluten in my diet (as much as possible – so hard when you’re a foodie!) and so I ordered the burger without a bun.  It was delicious! So juicy and flavorful. All the elements worked so well together and I didn’t even miss the bun!

Lastly, although we did not order the signature Whiskey Cake at this particular brunch, we do recommend it. It is yummy!

Whiskey Cake was really good. It may be a little pricier than some expect, but didn’t feel annoyingly chainy. We really enjoyed it and will certainly go back.

http://www.whiskey-cake.com/

Jonathon's Oak Cliff - Best Brunch Candidate

Jonathon’s Oak Cliff was recommended to me by a coworker. It is a small, quaint restaurant in Oak Cliff that focuses on local, made-from-scratch cuisine. Some of the menu could be considered “comfort food” and some of the menu items look interesting, unique and just plain awesome. I have been a number of times for lunch (working downtown) and sampled the delicious-looking brunch menu once, but knew we had to try more! Enter our next foodie adventure.

Haley and I trekked down from our abodes north of “the loop” on a Sunday morning and were immediately greeted with a create-your-own Bloody Mary bar. I, myself, am not a huge fan of the Bloody Mary, but I do know that everyone has their own specific way they like it.  They are served in a mason jar with a handle, which gives it a fun, southern feel. Maybe not the best Bloody Mary mix ever – but the CYO (create your own) factor is always nice.

The muffin of the day was a banana, cream cheese, bacon muffin.  Anyone who follows the Taste Buds knows Haley has an extreme affinity for bacon in all applications. Obviously, we got the muffin. It sounded awesome, but honestly didn’t live up to expectation. It was kinda weird. Oh well!

Now on to the entrees! Haley ordered the highly coveted chicken and waffle. The chicken is a huge boneless, skinless fried chicken breast which was cooked to perfection. The waffle was large and everything you’d want a waffle to be. The peppered gravy is probably the best white gravy we have ever tried. It had more flavor than we’d ever expected. All these combined made the perfect brunch bite! Now, don’t forget to ask for some maple syrup on the side (who doesn’t love sweet mixed with salty in the morning??).

I ordered “Breakfast”. Sounds straight forward, right? 2 eggs, 2 sides, toast. Well, I ordered my eggs poached, had black beans and fresh fruit for my sides, wheat toast and I requested some jam for dipping. Word to the wise, their jam is made from scratch every day. I had strawberry and it tastes like no other jam I’ve tried – amazing. In case you are wondering about my side dish choices, during a trip to Montreal I was faced with a large amount of English breakfast options and now really like beans as part of my breakfast. The eggs were poached very well, the black beans had a Southwestern kick and were very flavorful, the fruit was very ripe, and I already told you how good the jam was (sometimes toast is just toast – no need to comment there).

Brunch was delicious and is now a Taste Bud favorite – wish it were closer. Hey, Jonathon’s – when is your north Dallas location opening up??

Since I have also been several additional times beyond our foodie adventure, I would like to share my and my companion’s favorites from the rest of the menu. The migas are great and huevos juanitos is fantastic. Huevos juanitos is only on the brunch menu so take advantage. The fowl burger is awesome, as are the cheese grits. The club sandwich is the best I have EVER eaten (but it’s enormous). But perhaps the best thing on the menu is the loaded chips. They made their own potato chips and load them up with toppings that are fresh and change daily, like green chiles, roasted chicken, feta cheese, roasted tomato and red onion, or kalamata olives. It’s like the best, most unexpected plate of nachos you will ever try. It’s pretty much the appetizer Holy Grail.

http://www.jonathonsoakcliff.com/

1111 N Beckley Ave, Dallas, TX